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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Civil War Reenacting: Getting Started

By Matthew Pizzolato

The first step to getting started with reenacting is pretty
simple. Attend an event. Reenactments
take place all over the country, pretty much year round. The majority of
reenactments are during the fall and winter months, because wearing wool during
the heat of the summer isn't exactly fun.

Once you are there, talk to a reenactor. All of us are pretty friendly and love
talking about what we do. We are always
looking for new recruits to swell the ranks. Anyone can be involved, young or old, male
or female. It's something the whole
family can do.

My little baby sister and I standing in front of an A-Frame tent.

Most reenactments require participants to be registered
before they can take part in an event.
So if immersing yourself in the time period seems like something you'd
enjoy, make plans to attend the next local event.

I can say from personal experience that the first article a
new reenactor should acquire is a canteen.
Regardless of the time of year, marching to and from a battlefield is thirsty
work. Unless of course you choose to
join the artillery, then you can ride everywhere you go.

The next thing would be clothing. Period correct clothing can be ordered online
or purchased at the events from one of the sutlers. The next would be a tent. Tents come in all sorts of sizes, from the
Shelter tents, to the A-Frames. Then
there are Wall Tents and even the Hospital Tents, which are huge. It just depends on how much space you want or
need. Most of us use the A-Frame, although the average soldier of the time
didn't have anything as grand. When they
had tents, it was the Shelter Tent that was little more than a piece of canvas
strung across some branches to keep them out of the rain.

The most expensive thing to acquire would be the musket. There
is a wide assortment of firearms that can be used depending on which branch you
join. Most infantry use the replicas of the Springfield or Enfield muskets. The best way is to start small and gradually
acquire your gear over a period of time.

If you are just
looking to try out the experience, most reacting groups are willing to outfit
newcomers completely their first time, so stop by an event, make some new
friends, and then see the elephant!

Matthew Pizzolato's short stories have been published online and in print. He writes Western fiction featuring his antihero character, Wesley Quaid, that can be found in his story collection, The Wanted Man and the novella Outlaw.

8 comments:

Although not involved with the Civil War, I do spend time in the 1800's as writer Helen (Hunt) Jackson. It is one of the most rewarding things I do. Once you start it gets into your blood. Great post. Anyone interested in reenacing should at least give it a try. Doris

Matt, as usual, a wonderful post! I can live vicariously through these posts of yours--and if I was about 20 years younger I would definitely try it out. As it is now, my health won't allow that. Thanks so much for the wonderful pictures and info. I know there'll be many people that will benefit from your expertise! I love to read about it.Cheryl

Fascinating post! I'd love to read more about your reenacting experiences! On a visit to Atlanta, we followed a sign written in marker on a piece of notebook paper taped to the park entrace booth at Kennesaw Mtn, GA, and were lucky enough to see a battle reenactment, complete with cannon. The reenactors were terrific, patiently answered everyone's questions (in character, of course), and put on a fantastic living history show. I remember, too, the movie "Gettysburg" used hundreds of reenactors, who supplied their own costumes and gear. It gave such authenticity to that film, because those reenactors really knew what they were doing! More, please! Lorrie